A 9th place batter can still score runs.

New York sports fans are buzzing today over New York Yankees Jorge Posada missing last night’s game against their arch rival Boston Red Sox. His absence wasn’t due to an injury; when he was told he would have to hit 9th, he asked to sit out the game. Baseball fans, big and little are weighing in. To his credit, Posada was placed in a difficult position because after 13 years as the Yankees catcher (not to mention 4 World Series championships), he was delegated to DH, designated hitter this season and not allowed to catch at all.

But, baseball is a team sport. I can’t remember how many times I have told my son that it doesn’t matter where he falls in the batting order, the whole point of little league is to have fun and practice improving his skills.

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Opening Day deserves a missed school day, doesn't it?

In New York City, today’s buzz is centering around the Yankees Opening Day game against the Detroit Tigers at 1:05pm. Despite the rain and cold temps, die-hard fans of all ages are psyched to see their team start a new season. Some of the parents in my child’s school are taking their kids to the game while other parents say they wouldn’t let their child take a day off just for a baseball game when they can go on the weekend.

Missing school is hard for kids. With the amount of work my children get each day, when they miss a day, they miss a LOT. But kids get sick and it’s often necessary. However, sometimes, missing school isn’t absolutely necessary, but warranted. I’m a big believer in mental health days, long before it was debated in The New York Times’ Motherlode column.

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There just may be a moment of silence at Little League games across the country tonight for the man known in baseball as the Boss.  The New York Times reports that beloved (and sometimes vilified) Yankees figurehead George Steinbrenner died this morning of a heart attack in Tampa, FL at age 80.

Steinbrenner bought the Yankees in 1973 and resuscitated them from near death to become seven-time World Series champs, their most recent win taking place against the Phillies last fall in the brand new Yankee Stadium.  Steinbrenner died just two days after “the voice of the Yankees” Bob Sheppard died at 99 years of age. 

The Yankees are now run by Steinbrenner’s sons, Hal and Hank, who according to the Times, became co-chairmen in May 2008. “Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ managing general partner as well, was given control of the team in November 2008 in a unanimous vote by the major league club owners, who acted on his father’s request.”

Steinbrenner notoriously pushed general manager Joe Torre out after he’d secured years of wins for the team, and many baseball fans complained that the Yankees, under Steinbrenner, spent more than too much money on star players.  Continue reading »

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A kid from Indiana moves to Louisiana. So when his school says wear your football gear in place of your uniform, is it any surprise he picked his Indianapolis Colts jersey?

Apparently it was for school staff – they called senior Brandon Frost into the office and gave him a dressing down for showing up in blue and white instead of celebrating the New Orleans Saints. Then they told him take it off or go home. Continue reading »

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He’s teaching in upstate New York. So why did a teacher send a 9-year-old to the bathroom to turn his New York Yankees t-shirt inside out?

Because he’s a Red Sox fan. Continue reading »

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